- Short answer
- Shipping that forms one composite supply with goods at a single GST rate, as in the CGST Act's own example, takes that rate, not a separate rate.
- Shipping tax rate
- A shipping override charges the rate you enter in its Tax rate field.
- Mixed-rate orders
- Product overrides don't affect shipping tax; the weighted-average shipping rate is documented for EU and UK orders.
- Inter-State sales
- Integrated GST applies; section 20 of the IGST Act extends the CGST composite-supply and value rules to it.
What the CGST Act says about shipping charges
Section 15(2)(c) of the CGST Act puts into the value of a supply “any amount charged for anything done by the supplier in respect of the supply” at or before delivery. It names commission and packing, not shipping.
Section 2(30) defines a composite supply as supplies “naturally bundled and supplied in conjunction with each other in the ordinary course of business”, and its illustration names transport:
Where goods are packed and transported with insurance, the supply of goods, packing materials, transport and insurance is a composite supply and supply of goods is a principal supply
Section 8(a) treats a composite supply “as a supply of such principal supply”, so where shipping forms a composite supply with the goods, as in that illustration, it takes the rate of the goods.
Inter-State sales pay integrated GST under section 5(1) of the IGST Act, and its section 20 extends these CGST composite-supply and value rules to it.
Aggregate turnover for GST registration is a different test: how it reads Shopify's sales figures.
How to charge GST on shipping in Shopify for India
Shopify's GST in India FAQ, read on September 24, 2026, has no sentence on tax on shipping. India isn't on Shopify's automatic shipping-tax list: turn on Charge tax on shipping rates in Settings > Taxes and duties.
Where a store uses Manual Tax, Shopify says you “must manually set up shipping tax rates for each region where it's required”. A shipping override charges the rate you enter in its Tax rate field; for shipping that forms a composite supply with goods at one rate, section 8(a) points to the goods' rate.
When one order mixes GST rates
No CBIC GST FAQ or CBIC composite-supply flyer we read on September 24, 2026 addresses a seller's delivery charges, so none says how to rate shipping shared by goods at different GST rates.
Shopify documents its weighted-average shipping rate for EU and UK orders, not for India. A product override doesn't affect shipping tax, so on a mixed order you choose the shipping override's rate.
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